Homemade Eco-friendly Detergents
By: Daria Mahgoub
A concerned mother always takes the necessary precautions when it comes to pretty much everything; hiding glass objects, buying safety outlet plugs and even hiding detergents.
Cleaning detergents are not only dangerous for children, they also cause a lot of adult frustration and health concerns. When you pick a cleaning detergent, do you sometimes cringe at the long list (and long names) of chemicals listed?
I sometimes wonder if anyone else follows the rations noted for use as obsessively as I do. We’re not strangers to the existing scientific research results about the toxicity and effects on our health these domestic residents can have.
Is it a surprise then that detergents are bad for the environment?
I don’t have kids, but I care about the environment, and I seriously hate the smell of some of these detergents!
Let’s get something straight, anything that requires you to put gloves on or open your windows isn’t safe around you or your kids! If you are still not convinced about the purpose of eco-friendly detergents, here are just a few reasons:-
- They work just as well
- You save money
- You cut down on packaging
- They smell better.
This is a very simple task anyone can do to reach the ultimate goal of having a home with a cleaner and healthier indoor air quality.
Here is what I used and what you will need:
Old spray bottles. You can clean out your old ones and reuse them.
Table salt
Box of baking soda.
Bottle of white distilled vinegar.
Tap water.
Olive oil.
Natural soap (from Home & Beyond: Zamalek)
Fresh lemons.
Clothes or sponges (NOT PAPER TOWELS!!)
Optional
Organic essential oils of tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, lemongrass and rosemary. Not only do these smell great, they are also some of the best antibacterial and antiseptic natural options around. I get my essential oils from Home & Beyond as well.
EASY, ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING RECIPES:
Window wash: This is one of the simplest of all eco-detergents! Just add 3 tablespoons of vinegar to every 2 cups of water until you fill your container. If you can’t stand the smell of vinegar, or will be using the room immediately after cleaning, you may use this alternative: club soda! Just spray the glass and scrub with recycled news paper to get a shiny, non streaky effect.
All-purpose disinfectant: Mix 2 cups of water, a few drops of natural soap, and 15 drops of lavender organic essential oil and tea tree oil. This can be used for cleaning sinks, toilets, tables, walls etc. Do not use on glass though, it will streak!
Scrubbing toilets: Spray the toilet bowl with your all-purpose disinfectant, or lemon juice or even vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda on the liquid and wait for 10 minutes then scrub with a toilet brush. This mix can be used to clean sinks as well!
Fast non-toxic oven cleaning: For oven cleaning, you shouldn’t wait until your oven is miserably dirty, but this should do the trick anyway! Sprinkle table salt generously (best on hot spills before the oven cools down) then wait for the oven to cool before you rub the stain off with a damp cloth.
Mold remover: we all know mold is extremely harmful to our lungs and it’s terribly hard to remove. In this case prevention is key! However, no one really walks around mold-checking regularly. So, mix two cups of water and three drops of pure tea tree essential oil. At least twice a month you should spray this mix on your walls and behind furniture and wipe until the surface is dry.
Let me know how it works for you!
Hey Daria,
would you please say how much of the a/m ingerdients should be added to make the eco-friendly detergent?
Thanx
[...] ecooptionsegypt.com » Blog Archive » Homemade Eco-friendly Detergents [...]
I, and a I know a lot of friends, specially mothers, would definitely opt for an eco-friendly detergent. However, for many, finding the time to actually make them could be very challenging.
I think this could be a great project for low-income families. With life getting increasingly busy, most of us hire a help for cleaning our homes. And most of the times, the help can use some means to increase their income.
By showing our help how to make eco-friendly detergents and buying their products we are helping them, ourselves and the environment.
Maybe they start using them at their own homes and promote them in their communities. To be honest, I would not be surprised if they are already familiar with eco-friendly detergents. In some ways, I find that simple people are more in tune with nature.
For healthy living.
Ranwa
[...] ecooptionsegypt.com » Blog Archive » Homemade Eco-friendly Detergents [...]
[...] ecooptionsegypt.com » Blog Archive » Homemade Eco-friendly Detergents [...]
Thanks for the article! We Egyptians really need to start seeing that “going green” is not expensive or impossible in Egypt. There are many options that are homemade, inexpensive, or actually save money in the short or long run (like switching to energy efficient light bulbs- more expensive at first, but it lasts MUCH longer and uses MUCH less energy, saving you lots on electric bills and on replacing your bulbs every few months).
My two roommates and myself have been using homemade or natural cleaning products for months and we are very satisfied! We mainly use baking soda and vinegar, sometimes we use half lemons to scrub with and provide the disenfectant. Essential oils are used to mask some of the vinegar odor, but they don’t add to the cleaning properties (except tea tree oil), so don’t worry about not having oil or it being expensive, just skip it. You can add some lemon juice or spices (like cinammon or cloves)to give a good scent.
Ranwa, they really do not take much longer to make. First of all, most of the products are already in your home, so you don’t need to go out and buy them. Mixing them really takes a second.
I think it would actually be a great idea to have our cleaning ladies use these natural products, because then they will learn to use them as well and perhaps spread this idea to their own families and other people they work for. Also, if you’re worried about the “time-consumption”, you can have your cleaning lady do the mixing for you. You just need to show her once and she’ll know how to make them herself from then on.
It is really a good alternative, you surely is resourceful. I really give my full support for those Eco-friendly stuff.
[...] ecooptionsegypt.com » Blog Archive » Homemade Eco-friendly Detergents [...]
Hey great post!
I think vinegar is a miracle for cleaning. I started using it because my 6-year-old wanted to clean, and I couldn’t stomach handing him a bottle of Windex.
Do you have ideas for shampoo? Since Isis stopped making their kids’ shampoo, I’ve been turning to the supermarket brands, but they have a scary lists of ingredients. You have a recipe for shampoo?
M,
Next month we’ll cover shampoos for you.
And, we do agree vinegar is a miracle worker and we (let alone your 6 year old child) must steer clear of Windex and all the other toxic chemicals on the supermarket shelves.
Thanks for commenting.
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great article especially for those on a budget, also if you don’t like to use strong chemical try using baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, it works just as well.
you can also try baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice, these are all great green alternatives to chemical products.
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